Deploy Openclaw on Hetzner

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Quick Start

Deploying Openclaw on a VPS Hosting gives you a dedicated, always-on AI assistant. Hetzner offers affordable, high-performance cloud servers perfect for running Openclaw 24/7.

Provision the VPS

Create an Ubuntu or Debian VPS in the Hetzner cloud console. Once running, connect as root:

ssh root@YOUR_VPS_IP

Install Openclaw

Run the official installer which auto-detects your OS and installs Node.js 22+ if needed:

curl -fsSL https://Openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Run the Onboarding Wizard

Configure your model provider and set up the background daemon:

Openclaw onboard --install-daemon

The wizard guides you through connecting your AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.), configuring your workspace, and installing the Gateway as a systemd service.

Enable Service Persistence

By default, Linux systemd user services stop when you log out. Enable lingering to keep Openclaw running 24/7:

sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER VPS Hosting

Configure Channels

Add your preferred messaging channels. For example, to connect Telegram Bot:

Openclaw channels add telegram

Or edit ~/.Openclaw/Openclaw.json directly to configure Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, and more.

Verify Deployment

Check that your Gateway is healthy:

Openclaw status

You should see all services running. Access the web dashboard:

Openclaw dashboard

Troubleshooting & Best Practices

Firewall: Ensure ports 18789 (Gateway) and 3000 (Dashboard) are open in Hetzner's firewall settings.
SSH Keys: Use SSH key authentication instead of passwords for better security.
Backups: Enable Hetzner snapshots to protect your /data directory and configuration.
Updates: Run npm update -g openclaw periodically to get the latest features and security patches.
Logs: Check journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway if the service fails to start.

Your Openclaw instance is now running on Hetzner and ready to respond to messages across all connected channels.